Costs

The cost of a private nursing home room became $92,376 annually ($7,698 per month), while a semi-private room climbed to $82,128 annually ($6,844 per month), according to Genworth's 13th annual Cost of Care Study, which was released Tuesday.

When providers consider the challenges residents face, it's usually within the context of activity of daily living limits. Things like trouble with walking, dressing, bathing and eating tend to be top of mind. With mental conditions, Alzheimer's considerations dominate. But a phenomenon that fuels both physical and mental decline often flies under the radar.

The cost of long-term care continues to rise, according to the 10th annual Cost of Care Survey from insurance company Genworth. The median annual cost of a private nursing home room reached $83,950 this year, up 3.6% from 2012, the report showed.

There is no way to tally the full cost of Alzheimer's disease, a life robbing condition that now claims more than 5 million victims nationwide. But what can be put on a ledger sheet is sobering. Alzheimer's disease is now responsible for a quarter of all claims for nursing home services.

Average charges for living in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities, increased by healthy amounts in 2011, while in-home care costs stayed relatively the same, according to a new survey.